Connected
by Chocolatheque
Summary: complete and utter garbage
1. Fire Flower

Summary: I'm so glad that I was able to love you from the beginning.

* * *

AN: Duhrrr, I'm addicted to writing LenRin oneshots. I don't know why it's so much fun. But I guess these two are just impossibly cute. I might try some KaitoMiku and GakupoLuka later, too.

I should just jump on the bandwagon and do a LenRin oneshot collection, huh? LOL... if you guys actually want to read more of my junk, then I might turn this one into a collection. I dunno.

I worked a little bit harder on my descriptions in this piece. BUT OH MY GOSH, IT'S SO FREAKING CHEESY, LOL. -hides from shame-

Well, as usual, I must make a note to readers: please do not complain about twincest in your reviews. Thank ya!

* * *

"But why, Len?!" Rin protested. She slammed a hand down, just barely holding on to the tears that formed in her eyes. "Why?! What are you trying to prove?"

"I don't know!!" Len yelled back with the same level of frustration. He understood his own actions just about as well as she did, and the confusing feelings that twisted around in his stomach were making him feel sick.

The two exchanged intense stares from across the table. The cold, lonesome oatmeal in their bowls was long forgotten. Within the thick silence, only the ticking of the clock dared to make a sound. And to Len, that small sound almost seemed to echo throughout the kitchen. At a helpless loss for words, Len grabbed his backpack from the floor and strapped it on.

Finally, Rin stood up. Her chair whimpered loudly across the tile as she scooted it back. "Len... I don't want you to go. You don't HAVE to go, you—"

"_Dang it_, Rin!!" Len interrupted loudly. He turned away and began to walk towards the door as he spoke. With his back turned, he took a desperate and slight comfort in knowing that Rin couldn't see how he was biting his lip, or how he also had tears welling up in his eyes. "I... I wish I had never loved you."

And even though he couldn't see her face, nor could she see his, just imagining the pained expression that he knew Rin was making made Len's chest sting with guilt. Not wanting to give her an opportunity to respond, he opened the door and left, quickly disposing of all impulses to look back. And he ran.

He ran, gripping his backpack hard enough to snap some of its contents in half. He ran, carrying the heavy load that was his heart.

He ran, with nothing on his mind but an image of Rin.

* * *

Len had always felt slightly insecure and insignificant when he was around Rin. Ever since they were children, Rin and Len had been an inseparable duet that seemed to fit together like puzzle pieces. It came to the point where Len was playing with her almost everyday. He remembered how anxious he always was to see her. It seemed like with Rin, life was a never-ending adventure that offered nothing but eternal excitement.

But somehow, perhaps without him realizing it, a dependence on Rin developed. Whenever she had other places to be, or other friends to play with, Len became intensely jealous and lonely. With age came a higher tolerance to being without his best friend, but with it came also a realization as to why he felt the way he did.

He was very in love with Rin.

They did everything together. They went to school together, they ate meals together, they went shopping together (albeit, Len did this last one reluctantly).

And one of his favorite memories was seeing fireworks for the first time with Rin. He would never forget that day. He was young... maybe six or seven. Their town was having a festival, and as usual, his parents were too busy with work to take him. But then, the night of the celebration, Rin showed up at his door in a yukata and said, "Len, let's go see the fireworks!"

He would never forget his anxiousness, sitting on a blanket next to Rin with hundreds of other people scrambling for a good viewing spot. The sound of the first firework whistling up through the night sky was still very vivid in his mind. How he and Rin both jumped and grabbed each other when it set off with a "BOOM" was probably his favorite part, because their fear quickly melted into excitement and awe.

The beautiful flower of lights that had bloomed in the sky was amazing. It was a stunning, vivid yellow; it seemed to illuminate the entire world.

Len was sad when it began to fade. How could something so spectacular die away so quickly? His childish disappointment was relieved somewhat when another firework went off with an impressive thunder, but none of the following fireworks gave him quite the thrill that the first one did.

Somehow throughout the event, he ended up holding Rin's hand. It wasn't until the grand finale that he noticed. His eyes wandered down to their hands, and then upwards, only to see none other than Rin's smiling face. He, in turn, found himself smiling. This memory, one of the most lucid memories of Len's childhood, was definitely his most cherished.

Years passed, things changed, and finally, Rin and Len were in their junior year of high school. It was then that Len worked up the courage to ask out his childhood friend. Now they were in their senior year, and very close to graduation. Things had gone so well between them, and yet... Len felt strangely lacking.

He felt like he had missed something or made an incorrect decision somewhere along the line, but when he saw Rin's smile, which was now laced with a womanly maturity, his chest began to ache uncomfortably. Len felt very insignificant when Rin smiled.

And so, after about a week's consideration, he made a decision. He was going to leave town. Not permanently, but he wanted to get away from the girl he was so emotionally dependent upon. He wanted to grow up, become a man worthy of her, and come back with the same maturity etched into his face.

He wanted to bloom without fading away.

* * *

After running for a while, Len slowed down into a more relaxed jog, only stopping every now and then to catch his breath and take a sip from his water bottle. By now, he was quite far from the city outskirts. The sky was beginning to slip into its evening colors, and he wondered where he should go.

His cell phone began to vibrate in his backpack, startling him out of his quiet reverie. Fishing it out, he stopped to take a look at the caller ID.

The bright screen read, "Kagamine Rin".

Len fought with himself internally. His first impulse was to answer it, but he knew it was too early in his journey to give in. He knew that the moment he heard Rin's voice, he'd want to go running back to her side.

Though it pained him, he let the phone keep ringing as he continued to walk. It felt like a long time before it finally fell silent.

* * *

It had been a week. Len was staying a town or two over from his hometown, in a small inn. The citizens were preparing for an upcoming festival, and Len felt rather alienated from their activities. After all, he didn't belong here. _I don't belong anywhere_, he told himself bitterly.

When all the decorations and booths were set up, Len walked through the streets, eying everything critically. Maybe he was biased, but this town seemed so much less impressive than his did. To Len, his town radiated a cheerful spirit and attitude of friendliness whenever a festival came around.

He at last settled down onto an unoccupied bench. After all, he wasn't obligated to help with anything here. Watching unfamiliar faces pass by, Len heaved a deep sigh. Though he really wasn't that far away from his home, it felt like he had moved to a different country.

Len reached for his only companion — his backpack — and dug around. Buried under everything was his black cell phone. For Len, seeing it was like looking at a dead body. After a brief pause of consideration, he took it out of his backpack and flipped it open.

"One voice mail." It was that call he had ignored last week.

As if he was lighting a stick of dynamite, he nervously pressed a button and held the phone up to his ear. A voice played that made his entire body tense up.

"_Hi, Len... it's me. Listen, I'm sorry I got so angry. I'm not actually angry. I guess I was just surprised... and this is selfish of me, but I didn't want to go without you for so long. To tell the truth, I was looking forward to going to the festival next week with you. Do you remember our first festival together...? ...Probably not. Sorry, that's a dumb question..._"

There was a slight silence. It seemed like Rin was struggling for words.

"_Well, I just wanted to tell you... 'Good luck.' If leaving is something you have to do, then I'm behind you one hundred percent. I hope you're okay... I, I love you Len. I hope you know that._"

The moment he heard the words "Good luck", tears began to sting his eyes. Once the message had ended, they were streaming freely down his cheeks. Bent over, Len gripped his chest, trying to allay the sensation of his heart ripping into two. As he sobbed quietly, he attempted to sort out the different thoughts that were tangled inside his head.

"Rin... Rin..." he muttered her name, with the subconscious hope that saying her name would somehow summon her to his side; that she would appear and stroke his back comfortingly like she always did.

How could he have been such a fool? Why didn't he realize that he didn't need to go on some 'soul-searching' journey to feel better about himself? Why didn't he realize that it was okay for him to cling to Rin a little bit? All he had to do was tell her that he loved her!! And he couldn't even do that. Rin believed in him, and he didn't even believe in himself.

After a few minutes had passed, he wiped his face and decisively began to dial a number. He then strapped his backpack on and began walking.

Riiiiing. Riiiiiiing. His walk broke into a run as he waited for someone on the other end to answer. He knew what he had to do: go back to her. Len made a beeline for the train station.

"...Hello?"

Just barely making it onto the train in time, Len found it impossible to hold back a smile. "Rin?" he asked eagerly.

"Len?! Where are you?!"

"Rin...!!" Len caught his breath. He flopped onto a seat in the train, and glanced out the window as the foreign town slid away. "Rin..."

Rin said nothing, but he could hear her breathing unevenly. "Rin." Just saying her name was comforting. "I lied to you... I am... so glad... I was able to love you... from the very beginning..." With a smile still plastered to his face, he felt warm tears rolling down his cheeks again. "Rin, I love you..."

Rin responded with a sob. "I love you, too, Len...! C-come home!"

"Already am...!" Feeling like an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders, Len told Rin about his dull, anti-climatic travels as the train huffed along, working to reunite the two in time for the festival.

* * *

The train slowed to a stop, and Len could already see Rin standing outside. Everything around him seemed like a blur. Standing up, opening the door, and running into her arms... it was all sort of surreal. But good. Definitely good.

It was already dark, and Len noticed that Rin was wearing a very cute yukata. "Len, I'm so glad you're back in time!" Rin beamed, nuzzling her face in Len's chest like a cat. "You ARE going to see the fireworks with me, right?!"

"Of course." Len pat her on the head awkwardly, feeling both giddy to see her again and embarrassed to have her hugging him like this.

"Len...?" She looked up at him. Len saw a lot of conflict in her expression, as if she was having a difficult time deciding what to say. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before words came out. "I, um, meant what I said on the phone..."

"Huh? Which part?"

"I... I love you..."

Though she had already said it a couple of times, seeing her say it in person gave it so much more weight. Len replied almost immediately, "I love you too. I always have..."

Len stroked her cheek softly, watching her eyes carefully for something...

There it was. She closed her eyes and leaned forward onto her toes to reach him. He bent down and met her halfway. Her lips were cold from her standing outside, but he was more than happy to share his warmth.

And then there was an explosion.

Poor Len almost jumped out of his skin, but Rin on the other hand looked upwards calmly and saw a bright red firework melting into the black sky. "Oh man, the fireworks have already started! C-c'mon, Len, we'll miss them!"

She shyly grabbed his hand and pulled him along. With a laugh, he responded, "Okay, okay, I'm coming!"

This was all Len ever really wanted. Rin by his side, her hand in his, the two of them just enjoying their time together. When he tripped, he didn't necessarily need to pull himself up; it was okay to let Rin pull him up sometimes. And as the fireworks continued to roar, Len savored the privilege of enjoying them with Rin. He wouldn't have it any other way.


	2. Times Three

Summary: On White Day, you're supposed to repay the girls who gave you something on Valentine's Day. And times three no less. Len was not so fond of this math.

* * *

AN: Well, as you all asked, I'm turning this into a collection of LenRin oneshots! Yes, I know, we are totally spamming up the VOCALOID section. But oh, how lovely those two are... hahaha.

And since today's White Day in Japan (if you're not familiar with it, go Google it), I decided to write a little something! Just so you know, it's kind of an unspoken rule that if you (a guy) receive something on Valentine's Day, you're supposed to return that gift threefold, whether it be in price, value, quantity... I don't know how many guys actually follow that rule, but we'll just say that Len does. :) Enjoy!

* * *

Len looked down at his notebook in dismay. Chewing ferociously on his pencil, as if this device had written the figures on his paper all by itself, the blonde let out a grumble with a bright red face. "Crap."

Tomorrow was White Day, and Len was trying to figure out what to do for all of the girls who had given him things on Valentine's Day. He almost wish he hadn't received so much, just so that he wouldn't have to repay them, but such was Japanese traditions. And who was he to break tradition?

He had listed what each girl had given him as if it were a shopping list.  
Meiko: A card, one box of obligatory chocolate.  
Miku: A homemade piece of cake, one bar of obligatory chocolate.  
Luka: One lone bar of obligatory chocolate. (The newest VOCALOID was rather tense and shy around the opposite gender, so she had been the stingiest with her Valentine's gifts... Poor Gakupo had received a kick where it counts after she had mustered up the courage to peck him on the cheek. Her love-hate relationship with him was quite amusing.)

So are you noticing a pattern yet?

And at the bottom of the page, in the smallest letters Len could write, was Rin's name, followed by, "Homemade chocolates, one kiss on the lips".

Just barely touching on that memory made Len flush and fidget. Rin _did_ kiss him on the cheek every now and then (albeit rarely), but that was the first time she had ever kissed him on the l—

He couldn't even complete that thought. As if to chase the recollections away, Len screamed and shook his head furiously. "AHHH!!" The poor adolescent could feel even his ears burning up. "Dang it... who made this retarded holiday, anyway..."

Len did not enjoy the strange contradictions he felt about these 'lovey-dovey' holidays. Part of him wished they didn't exist in the first place, and part of him really enjoyed th... — WAIT, no, he was not going to think about that!! Releasing his frustration on his pitiful pencil once again, Len redirected his concentration to focusing on the task at hand.

The digital clock on his desk flashed a compassionate, "10:00PM", gently trying to remind the boy to get some sleep.

* * *

"Wow, Len, a bracelet?! How sweet!" Meiko smiled her motherly smile (at least, it was motherly when it wasn't drunk) and hugged Len. Len returned her smile awkwardly and returned her hug. Meiko was practically a mom figure to him anyway, so this felt more like Mother's Day than White Day... "Oh, this is so pretty. Thanks, Len!"

"You're welcome, Mei-nee."

Len looked around the house for his next target. Ah, right around the corner, there was Miku. Kaito seemed to be talking to her, so Len waited a moment. Kaito appeared to be straining for words, trying to confess to Miku, and then...

'_Ahh, darn, he stole my idea._' Len grimaced as Kaito held out a bouquet of blue roses to Miku. The girl with pigtails squeaked audibly and hugged Kaito.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I've got stuff to give to Miku-nee, too." Len approached casually and held out a bundle of small, white flowers. "Guess you and I had the same idea, aniki," he commented somewhat apologetically.

"No, no, it's fine!" Miku interjected with a bright, sunny expression. "Look, see? These two bouquets go beautifully together! Thanks, you two!!"

Both Kaito and Len laughed sheepishly. The latter left to finish his deliveries and to leave Kaito with Miku. Now all that was left was Luka and Rin.

He spotted Luka down the hall. Walking towards Len was Gakupo, with a fresh bruise blossoming on his jaw. Len cast a sympathetic glance up at the purple-haired VOCALOID. Gakupo seemed to notice this look, because he met Len's gaze, gave him a thumb's up, and whispered, "It went pretty well!" as he passed by.

"L... Luka-nee..." Len said, not shyly, but nervously as he approached the tall woman. "I, um... here..."

He held up a box of chocolates as if making a sacrifice to an angry Greek goddess. But to his relief, she accepted it calmly. "Thank you, Len-kun." And now to his surprise, she actually rallied up a small, stiff smile.

...Len wondered why Gakupo was the only one to receive the brunt of Luka's abuse. Ah, well.

By this point, you must think Len to be a very generous boy. But no, Len had carefully done the math, figuring out the approximate worth of each gift he had received, meticulously multiplying each by three and choosing something of that exact amount. The problem was Rin's gift. The chocolates weren't an issue, but the... the _other_ gift... Len had received quite a headache last night over how to properly solve that equation. His conclusion was—

"Ah, Len!"

Len collided into something soft while he was thinking, and looked up to see Rin. "Oh, uh...!! Ri-Ri-Rin!!" he stuttered. He was still working on gathering courage to face her, so he wasn't expecting to bump into her so quickly.

"Don't sound so surprised, silly, you sound like a bell." Rin laughed jovially, with a slight glint of playful mischief sparking in her eyes. "So, d'you remember what today is?"

Just to stall for time, Len responded saucily, "President's Day?"

Rin jokingly hit her partner on the shoulder. "This is Japan, retard. Be serious!"

"All right, all right..." With his heart pounding hard enough to rattle his ribcage, Len took his shaking hands from behind his back and hastily flung a large box into Rin's hands.

"Wow, this is big!" Rin commented with a smile of equal range. "Thank you _so_ much, Len!" She didn't hesitate to tear off the wrapping paper unceremoniously, flinging bits and pieces over her shoulder like a kid on Christmas.

Finally, she lifted the cardboard lid off and found a large batch of carefully prepared cookies in a heart-shaped tin container. Chocolate chip, sugar, nuts; it wasn't just cookies, but a rather a large variety of cookies. "Oh my gosh, Len, did you _make_ all of these? By _yourself_??" she asked, her aquamarine eyes wide.

Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Len looked to the side a little. "Uhh, yeah. I mean, it wasn't too hard, I just looked up a few recipes on the internet, but..."

Rin quickly shoved a cookie into her mouth. "Man, these are really good, too!! I didn't even know you _could_ bake! This is awesome! I'm gonna make you bake for me all the time, now!" She smiled a catty grin.

"Oh, boy," Len smirked with a weak sarcasm. Regardless, he was happy it had turned out well. Those cookies cost him several hours of sleep. In fact, Len couldn't recall if he had slept at all last night...

"Thank you soooooo much, Len! This is the best White Day ever!" Rin threw herself onto Len in what was supposed to be a hug. But Len gently pushed her away and took a small gulp.

"Um, there's a second part to your gift..." Knots were spreading like bunnies in his stomach.

"Ehhh, there's more?!" Rin looked absolutely thrilled. "Well, what is it??"

'_Here goes..._' Len told himself, leaning forward with his eyes tightly shut and his face rivaling tomatoes in coloration. Rin gasped as he caught her by the lips (and totally off-guard.) It only took a moment of registration for her to realize what this was pay back for, though.

Len let out a small sigh and pulled back. Rin blinked a few times, smile still firmly in place, and she opened her mouth to say something, but was even more shocked when Len leaned forward for _another_ kiss. Though this one was perhaps even more unexpected, she adjusted to it much more quickly and had the opportunity to return the gesture.

Pulling back for air one last time, Len kissed Rin _**again**_. Rin wasn't sure how long this was going to go on, but she didn't plan on complaining. On an impulse, she slowly slid her tongue against his lips, which made the poor boy jolt backwards. Falling onto his bottom, Len gave Rin a bewildered look.

"So what was that all about?" Rin asked with a slightly confused, but not at all displeased expression. Despite being the more daring of the two, she couldn't hide the slight tint on her face.

Len clambered back up to his feet, looking pathetic and embarrassed. "Th-three... you're supposed to repay the girls times three of whatever they gave you on Valentine's Day..."

A light bulb flickered over Rin's ribbon. "Ohhh! I see!! Hahahaha, Len, you know you didn't have to be so exact. Most guys don't go to the trouble of following that rule."

Almost unsure of what to do next, Len almost looked like he was about to run away to explode of humiliation, but Rin caught him by the tie like it was a leash and pulled his face close to hers. Wearing a sly grin, she whispered, "I appreciate it. Thank you."

She released the scrambled boy, since his face was starting to turn purple, then continued out loud, "I wonder if I should give you something even better next year? Then you'll have to repay me with even more!"

Cackling like a demon, Rin walked away from a woeful Len and thoughtfully plopped another cookie into her mouth, plotting about what to do next Valentine's. Len wondered how hard it'd be to get a passport to America before then.


	3. Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday

Summary: The troublesome Demon Rin twins decide to drop in on Len to 'celebrate'.

* * *

AN: In case you haven't guessed yet, this is based off "Pretty Panty/Panties AkumaRin (akuma means "demon"). Don't worry, the song itself has nothing to do with the very questionable-sounding title. :P

I'm unsure which Rin is which. I'll call the one in the in the lolita get-up and the big horns MaRin One ("marin" being short for "akumaRin", since one of them calls herself "MaRin One" in the video), and the one with the pigtails MaRin Two. Hope I didn't get it wrong.

Anyway, I mostly wrote something based on this song because the content of the next chapter I have planned is pretty dark and depressing, so I figured I'd lighten things up first. Plus, I kind of doubted anyone would write anything for Pretty Panty, and also I just like this song anyway.

I won't update until I have ten reviews! (laughs evilly)

This... this isn't fluffy at all... LOL

* * *

"Ahhh, I'm so bored..." A girl with short, blonde pigtails leaned back onto the tree behind her and stretched lazily. A leathery, pointed tail unfurled, and catlike fangs poked out as she yawned.

By her side was an almost identical girl, but with a softer face... and large ram horns on either side of her head. "I know, there's nothing to do this time of day... all the humans are usually asleep when it gets dark."

"Dunno why, night is when things get fun!" Suddenly filled with resolve, the girl with pigtails stood up, clenched a fist, and grabbed for her trusty pitchfork. Mischief was written all over her face.

The second girl stood up daintily, brushing off her lacy dress. She then folded together gloved hands. "What are we going to do, MaRin Two?"

"Well, MaRin One, I just remembered that it's that yellow crybaby's birthday today! And Christmas was just the other day too, you know? I think we should drop in and give him a gift." She punctuated the word 'gift' with a malicious grin.

"You mean the boy we gave a wedgie to last week? Ohh, what was his name... that's right, Len!" Though the more reserved of the two, MaRin One chuckled at this memory. "Even though he's a teenager, he cried so much! Goodness, that was funny. So what kind of 'gift' were you thinking of?"

"Heeheehee~ I was thinking... THAT..."

"Oh my! You don't really mean _that_ THAT, do you? The one we've been saving up for a special occasion!?"

"You bet!" MaRin Two twirled her pitchfork around with a cackle. "Maybe we should throw in that other THAT too..."

"It would suit him..." MaRin One paused to picture whatever they were talking about in her head. "All right, well, let's go get those THATs and find out where the yellow crybaby lives!"

* * *

"It's this house! I can sense his presence." Now carrying both her pitchfork and a small box, MaRin Two tapped the top of the roof they were standing on confidently.

"How shall we invade? Front door? Backdoor?" MaRin One also had a box in her arms, and an eager smile on her face.

"Ehh, let's just break through his bedroom window. It's easier."

The troublesome demons took to the air and flitted about the house, peering through all the windows into dark bedrooms. It wasn't long before MaRin Two called out, "Found it! The yellow crybaby's asleep though." Her sister floated over to her side and leaned forward.

"Yes, that's him all right."

"Stand back!" The more scantily clad of the pair thrust her foot into the glass, and they met with a loud shatter. Shards rained all over the place. By the time they were in the room, the young boy inside had already scrambled out of bed in a half-asleep daze and turned on the lights.

"Wh-whuh's goin' on?!" he managed to blurt.

In unison, the two demons chirped, "How are you?! We are the super cute Demon Rin twins!"

As if they were reading a birthday card out loud, MaRin One shouted cheerfully, "To our very favorite Len—" MaRin Two continued, "With the cute, blue eyes!" And then they finished, talking at the same time again (it almost seemed like they had rehearsed it), "We've come to deliver some wonderful gifts! How nice of us!"

It seemed as though Len was still not fully conscious, because he constantly rubbed his 'cute, blue eyes' and blinked hazily through the whole thing. When it was his turn to talk, he slowly asked, "S... Santa-san... wh-wh-what's going on?" In his partially asleep mind, he thought, 'I must have been a bad boy this year.'

The two exchanged a glance and seemed to communicate something to each other without saying a word. MaRin Two opened her mysterious box, and out came a dog collar with a long trail of chains. She slipped it onto the boy without much trouble, since he was still processing the situation. But once she tightened it and gave the metal leash a small yank, Len seemed to finally realize that these girls were most definitely not Santa. "W-wait, what the heck?! Who are you guys!?"

"As we said," MaRin One began again, and MaRin Two continued, "We're the Demon Rins!" And, predictably, they finished, "Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday!"

Len was gradually gaining consciousness, and as he did, his fear increased. "What are you gonna do to me...?"

MaRin Two's infamously wicked smile sprawled across her face. "Eeheehee... we're going to give you a REALLY exciting present..."

MaRin One also smiled, but rather than mischievous, she looked quite sadistic. An uncharacteristic shadow almost seemed to fall over her bright and droopy eyes. "Eeheehee! We'll show you our wonderful demon magic!"

Tightening her grip on the the leash, Two started the chant and One chimed in. "RinLenLaRiRin..."

Len's eyes widened and he tried to run away, but the demon girls had a tight grip on him. With a scream, he covered his head and waited for whatever horrible spell they were going to cast on him—

—and he was surprised when MaRin One shoved a dress into his face. It rivaled her own in frilliness. "Change into this, please!"

"...Huh?"

"Hurry up and undress!"

"...Huh??"

"Don't make me do it for you!"

"...Huh???"

Len kept swinging his head back and forth between the two girls who kept prompting him, but he still didn't understand what they wanted him to do. It wasn't until MaRin One was tugging his PJs off that he had some clue, but he was too busy screaming and flailing to really care.

"Would you stop screaming? You'll wake up the rest of the humans!"  
"C'mon, you're a cute boy, I'm sure you'll make a _loooovely_ princess!"

After only a brief moment, Len had found himself in a princess dress. How or why it happened, he didn't know (and didn't really want to). He just stood there stiffly, wondering whether to panic, cry, or run around in circles. All three sounded like good options.

Meanwhile, the demons were admiring his dress and telling him how much it suited him. "You could pass off as one of us, I think...! You just need a tail." MaRin Two flicked her purple tail around Len's face.

Len abruptly snapped out of his trance, his face turning red. "WHAT. THE. HECK!!" Both of the girls fell back a little, surprised at his sudden outburst. "Why are you guys here?! Why are you making me wear girl's clothes?! I mean, it's like midnight or something!!"

Exchanging another communicative glance, the pair simultaneously smirked. MaRin One put a hand over her mouth, but that sadistic smile could still be seen in her eyes. "Oh dear, sister, he doesn't like our gift."

Two waved a finger around playfully. "Tsk, tsk, I guess we have no choice but to give him part two."

Len whimpered and realized what he had just set himself up for. The twins began to roughly unbutton his dress, and One pulled another article of clothing out of her box, but he yanked away the outfit and barked, "Gimme that, I can change by myself!!"

The demons were having great fun, but for Len, this was like a preview of hell. He took a small, wistful look at his bedroom door that seemed so far away, but a light jerk from Two reminded him that he had no hopes of calling the police. Ah, well... maybe if he just complied with their commands, they'd get bored and leave...

All logic went out the window when he looked in the mirror and found himself in a swimsuit. A girl's swimsuit. With little frills and his name on the front. He let out another horrified scream.

"Heeheehee!" His torturers giggled hysterically from behind. But Len did not find this funny at all.

Suddenly, Two fell silent and hushed her sister. "Wait... uh-oh, he woke up another human, I can hear someone coming down the hall," she whispered to her companion.

"Oh my... well, I guess you win this time, Len!" MaRin One swung her boot-covered legs over the window sill (which was letting in a terrible draft, with the glass being gone and all, and Len in his skimpy swimsuit did not appreciate that), and Two followed suit. "Too bad, I was having fun," she pouted.

"WAIT JUST A _DARN_ SEC!" There was no way he was going to let them hit and run like that! They had deprived him of a good half-hour of sleep, mentally scarred him for life, and hurt whatever small man-ego he managed to keep alive since the magic wedgie he had received last week. They were going to at least apologize, dang it!

But as quickly as they had arrived, they also disappeared. And almost as soon as they were gone, Len's bedroom door burst open. "Len!! Why are you making so much noise at this time of night?!"

His older sister, Miku, stood at the doorway in her pajamas, disheveled and angry. She paused once she got a good look at her noisy sibling, and very slowly her jaw slackened and her eyes widened. Before Len could explain the horrors he had just experienced, Miku slammed the door shut and ran away. Whatever her brother was doing at midnight in a girl's swimsuit, she really did not want to know.

Len decided that now was the time to freak out, cry, and run in circles.


	4. I'm Sorry

Summary: Rin and Len get into another childish fight.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the delay. I actually planned on doing a Soundless Voice/Proof of Life based chapter this time, but I'm a bit stuck, so I figured I'd do something lighter and easier meanwhile. It will be next, if I can finish it.

This one's loosely based off of "Taisetsu na Kotoba" (Important Words). The PV for it was just so inexplicably adorable to me... These two really do have the cutest relationship!! I was sad that the end wasn't fluffier though...

Anyway, I'll update again when I have at least 15 reviews. Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone! I apologize that this chapter is also somewhat lacking in fluff. It seems like small kisses and hugs are as fluffy as I can get... I'm too embarrassed to write things that aren't relatively platonic in nature...

* * *

"Stupid Len!"

"Stupid Rin!"

"I HATE YOU!"

Rin pulled down an eyelid and Len yanked out the corner of his mouth. After making these unattractive, immature faces at each other, both stormed off to their respective rooms.

It had been a pretty good birthday for the mirrored Vocaloids up until this point. Meiko promised not to get drunk, Kaito managed to keep his hands off the cake until the Kagamines had blown out their candles, Miku hadn't slipped leeks into the frosting, and Luka hadn't brutally injured Gakupo... yet, anyway.

Finally, slices of cake were passed around, and everyone was sitting around the table, offering their congratulations to the youngest pair of their 'family'. Since they somehow ended up one chair short, Rin and Len shared a chair (Luka vehemently refused to sit on Gakupo's lap like he had offered). The two were used to being close to each other, anyway.

But then somehow, heck broke loose.

"H-hey! Don't eat my cake, you have your own!" Len suddenly snapped, startling the party's peaceful atmosphere.

"I just took a small bite because yours had more frosting on it!" Rin protested defensively, chewing on her stolen goods.

"A SMALL bite?! Half of my freakin' piece is gone!!"

Meiko quickly tried to mediate before things escalated, but she went unheard as the blondes continued to bicker. "Now, now, you two, it's just cake, and there's plenty more left..."

"AH...! M-MY STRAWBERRY!" Rin wailed as Len swooped in with his fork. "GIVE IT BAAACK!"

Though usually the more grown-up of the two, today Len displayed a rare streak of immaturity. He very deliberately licked the fruit and offered it to his furious partner. "Here, want it now?"

The girl's brows scrunched up, and she shoved him, almost knocking him off the chair in the process. "Ewww, no! Get away, you retard!"

Len smartly recovered from the push by making a grab for the table cloth. "Who are you calling retard?!" he shouted with the strawberry in his mouth (which made distinguishing his sentence quite a task). "You're so rude and uncute!"

The other Vocaloids watched with a silent, reverent sort of horror as the argument continued to unfold. Even Meiko had given up on intervening. (Only Kaito continued to nibble at his cake, but his eyes never left the twins, and he chewed a little more slowly and quietly, as if to keep a bomb from going off.)

"You're the uncute one, retard!" Rin shot back with an ever-growing scowl on her face.

"You could stand to learn some manners! Like — like Miku-nee!!" Len pointed in the leek-lover's direction.

Miku flinched at suddenly being dragged into the conversation. She put up two dainty hands and began softly, "Well, Rin-chan has plenty of good—" But as suddenly as Miku was dragged into the conversation, the Kagamines booted her out again and continued with their arguing. She trailed off pathetically and returned to observation mode.

"Retarded!"

"Uncute!"

"Whiny!"

"Rude!"

"Shota!"

"Selfish!"

"Stupid Len!"

"Stupid Rin!"

And then to end the insult battle, both screamed as loudly as they could...

"I HATE YOU!"

Here is where they exchanged ugly faces and ran off to their bedrooms.

The remaining Vocaloids sat with their mouths agape, feeling as though they had just witnessed a full-scale war in a three minute time span. It took a while before anyone dared to comment on what had occurred.

Kaito tentatively started, first swallowing his cake. "I... I guess this would be a bad time to open the presents, huh?"

Gakupo began to fan himself furiously, as though releasing all his pent-up worry. "Goodness, what a horrible sight! I certainly hope Len-dono and Rin-dono make up soon..."

Meiko groaned and leaned back in her chair, trying not to think about the work she had put into making this party a nice one, all in vain. "Can I get drunk _yet_?"

Miku twirled the ends of her ponytails around, looking sad and confused. "Those two... why do they have to get riled up so easily...?"

Luka was the only one who didn't immediately have some kind of comment, but her face clearly displayed a pensive and concerned expression. After a long pause, she finally said, "I'm sure they'll make up."

Everyone's attention shifted over to Luka. Four questioning pairs of eyes gazed at the pink-haired woman.

"I mean... those two are too close to be fighting for very long."

"That's true..." the group mumbled in agreement. Everyone tried to continue to be jovial for whenever Rin and Len decided to cool down and return to the party.

* * *

"Ahhh... man... why'd I have to start such a fuss..." Inside her bedroom, Rin clutched a pillow tightly to her chest. She was replaying the fight in her mind and realizing it would have all been avoided if she hadn't touched Len's cake in the first place. Already, she felt guilty. "I shouldn't have called Len retarded, either... I'm actually envious of how smart he is..."

With a sigh, she set her pillow aside and approached her mirror. "Len," she said quietly, rehearsing to her reflection. "I'm really, really sorry... I didn't mean those things I said..."

Rin summoned some of her best crocodile tears, and her bottom lip trembled pathetically. "So... so please forgive me..." She nodded approvingly at herself. "Okay, I've gotta go apologize to him now!"

* * *

"Agh, why did I lose my temper like that?!" Len punched a fist into his pillow, but all of his frustration quickly faded away. His shoulders loosened as he laid down on the pillow he had just been abusing. He, too, was thinking about the fight. "If I hadn't reacted the way I did, she wouldn't have gotten mad and we wouldn have never started fighting... She didn't really eat that much of my cake..."

Len recalled all the nasty insults he had shot at Rin. "Agh, why did I say those kinds of things to her?! Rin's not really rude... she's always looking out for me... And she has a lot of cute points... she's so protective and thoughtful... and she always knows when I'm feeling down... and she has nice eyes..."

He paused and blushed. "Wait, no, that doesn't have anything to do with it..." Brusquely shaking his head back and forth, he stood up and walked over to his mirror. After smoothing down a cowlick, he cleared his throat and stared intently at his reflection. "Listen, Rin... I'm sorry for losing my temper. I got carried away and said a bunch of untrue stuff... can you forgive me?"

Almost forgetting that he was addressing himself (after all, his reflection did look a great deal like Rin anyway), he waited for a response for a moment before he said to himself, "That should work... I'm gonna go apologize right away...!"

* * *

Rin slammed open her door, and Len's slammed open in unison. They approached each other, both tense and somewhat out of breath.

_There's Rin...!_

_L-Len! Now's my chance!_

Rin wrung her hands together and tried to put on her 'I-am-so-pathetic-please-go-easy-on-me' face, but she was so flustered that she couldn't remember how to change her expressions. Len ran his hands through his hair, rubbed his nose, and shifted his weight around like crazy, but couldn't seem to find a position that was suitable for apologizing. Both paused, waiting to see who would have the courage to talk first, but they got impatient and ended up starting at the same time.

"Len, I have something I want to talk to you about—"  
"Rin, I want to talk to you about this whole thing—"

"I didn't mean a word of it—"  
"I can't believe I said the things I said—"

"You're my best friend, and I don't want to hurt you—"  
"The truth is, I really do care about you—"

"What I'm trying to say is—"  
"Anyway, the point is—"

"I'M SORRY!"

True to their last names, Rin and Len really did do everything the same way. The real apology was not very different than their rehearsals in front of the mirror, because both opened their eyes, both wore the same perplexed (but happy) expressions, and both ran forward for a hug at the same time. The comfort of each others' arms seemed to serve as a reminder that life was best when they were on good terms.

As for the rest of the Vocaloids, they had heard the doors open and poked their heads around the hallway corner to see what would ensue. Once the bickering pair had embraced, everyone had to hold back an 'awww' for fear that they'd be caught spying, so they scrambled back to the kitchen and waited for the Kagamines. Sure enough, the twins appeared in the kitchen entryway moments later, hand in hand.

"Can we open presents now?" they both chirped with the exact same smile on their faces.


	5. Baby, It's Fact

Summary: My love is true, it's a matter of fact. And you love me too, it's as simple as that.

* * *

AN: Gosh! Sorry for taking so long! I haven't been feeling well...

Anyway, it feels a little unusual to write a Vocaloid fanfic inspired by a NON-Vocaloid song! This one is inspired by "Baby, It's Fact" by Hellogoodbye. It's pretty rare for me to listen to english music (yeah, I know, I'm really lame), and when I do, I just usually listen to random songs. Hellogoodbye is probably the first english band in a long time I've liked a lot of their songs.

So, anyway! There's not really a specific story in the song, therefore this is mostly just inspired by its cute mood. Sorry it's kind of boring.

Still working on that Proof of Life/Soundless Voice oneshot... it's being really difficult...

* * *

Len was admittedly somewhat of a nerd.

He was trying to transition to contact lenses, but it wasn't uncommon to see him bent over a book in the library, his _very_ thick coke bottle glasses slipping down his nose.

He didn't enjoy the loose, messy styles that were popular with his fellow males. Len liked to dress tidily, with his shirts properly ironed and his tie nice and straight.

He thought schoolwork was actually pretty fun. He didn't understand why the others complained over learning about foreign societies, the microscopic creatures of the deep, and how to find the square root of fractions. He thought it was rather fascinating.

But in complete contrast, Len found no pleasure in sports. Relatively frail and skinny for a boy, his peers constantly teased him for being the slowest, weakest, clumsiest, etc., at pretty much everything. If he tried running track, he was last with a rather sad distance between himself and the other runners. If he tried soccer, he'd trip over the ball. If he tried basketball...

He didn't like recalling that basketball hoop incident. It still gave him nightmares sometimes.

At this point, it should be quite clear why a large majority of the student body picked on the poor boy. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with him, it was just that he was so... awkward.

However, Len had one person who stuck with him and supported him (besides a few (equally awkward) fellow band class members): Kagamine Rin.

Why a popular, cute, and cheerful girl like her floated through all the social barriers to be by his side, Len would never know. But when she stared at him with her big, pretty eyes, Len's chest tightened a bit, and he forgot all about the invisible hierarchy at his school.

Sometimes she would watch him practicing the flute after class, or go to his house to study together, or ask him to go shopping with her. They did small, friendly things like this, and it didn't take long for the rumors to start spreading. Propagated mostly by jealous jocks and spiteful snobs, "Rin's dating the loser Len" quickly became the top headline of school gossip. Obviously, it didn't take long for this rumor to find its way back to its subjects' laps.

"Len, congratulations!!" a boy with a trumpet in one hand greeted Len suddenly as he stepped into the classroom. Before Len had the opportunity to inquire what he was being congratulated for, another boy — his friend, Ted — added, "Yeah, I can't believe it! You really scored!"

Suddenly, it seemed all of the band class was toppling Len over, asking for details about some mysterious topic. Len struggled to regain composure, and asked in his shy, quiet way, "What the heck are you guys talking about...?"

"Um, becoming Kagamine Rin's boyfriend! No offense, but we thought she was really out of your league..." another friend, Kaito, answered.

"Wait..." Len paused, mutely repeating what was just said to him. Finally, it clicked. "Wait... BOYFRIEND?!"

His peers were taken aback by his unexpected surprise. "So you guys aren't dating?" the first boy asked.

Len's pale complexion didn't hesitate to burn a deep red. He shook his head and waved his hands in an exaggerated, comedic fashion. "No, no, no...! She's, she's just a friend! We're not dating!" _Besides, I'd never have a chance at a girl like her_, he added sadly to himself.

The other boys seemed equally disappointed. So much for one of their kind breaking through the caste system. Oh well, back to practice...

Len sat down with his flute and tried to play it like nothing happened, but traces of the redness were still hidden on his cheeks. The truth was, he really liked Rin. Maybe even loved her. He'd known her since grade school, and she was always really friendly (maybe even too friendly) around him. Rin had a reckless sort of positive attitude about life, and was the fuel for his metaphorical energy tank. More than the fact that she was adorable, Len loved how open she was with her thoughts. He hoped to be that honest someday as well.

Despite the dirty glares she'd get from the other popular girls, Rin would run over to talk to Len between class periods. Despite the advances from more handsome guys, Rin turned them all down bluntly. Len couldn't help but hope somewhere in his insecure mind that this all had a special meaning.

Later that day, when school was over, Len packed up his things and got ready to head home as quickly as possible. Too many people were whispering behind his back about his supposed relationship with Rin, and it was making him uncomfortable. Plus, he didn't want to get a wedgie from any angry upperclassmen (it had happened before). But unfortunately for him, the exact person he wanted to avoid caught him.

"Len!!" Rin grabbed Len by the back of his shirt and smiled, though gasping for air. "You were walking a lot faster than usual! It's a good thing I caught you in time!"

"Uh, yeah..." _Great_... Len thought sarcastically to himself.

"I was wondering, Len... do you wanna go on a date with me?"

"Sure... ... ... ... W-wait, what?!" Len blinked rapidly and habitually pushed his glasses up. "Y-you want to go out on — on a _date_? With _me_?!"

Rin smiled innocently and nodded. The ribbon tied on her head bobbed back and forth as she rocked on her heels. The question had caught Len so off-guard that he stuttered and babbled stupidly for a moment, but Rin just giggled.

"With me?" he reiterated, just to be sure she wasn't joking or talking about something else.

"Of course! Who else, silly?"

"W-well — I mean — w-when? Where? I-I've never been on a date before..."

Rin replied without pause, seemingly having everything already planned out. "Meet me at that new café down the street, tonight at eight. That way you have time to finish your homework and get ready. Sound good?"

Len nodded carefully, resembling a bobble-head. "Tonight at the café... O-okay..."

"Great! I'll see you then!" She flashed a sunny smile and darted off to catch up with some of her friends, leaving a somewhat dazed Len behind.

"A date..." he repeated the word, as if it were another language. He felt his heart rate increase rapidly, so he continued walking briskly, but it didn't get any better.

Len just hoped he would be calmer by the time he met up with Rin.

* * *

After a few hours of being totally unable to focus on his studies, Len found the nicest casual clothes he owned, forced himself to wear his contact lenses, and carefully tied his excess hair into a neat ponytail. He left the house feeling nervous, uncomfortable, and a bit sweaty. Len's only consolation was that he felt confident that he cleaned up pretty well. His striped, button-up shirt and jeans were probably a little more stylish than his usual sweater vests. Less comfortable, but still stylish. And it was easier to see his eyes without thick layers of glass shielding them.

"Would it be too cheesy to bring her flowers? Do I have my wallet? Should I pay for everything or let her help with the tip? Ugh..."

Len mentally went down a checklist of everything that could possibly go wrong, and meticulously tried to concoct ways to avoid those scenarios. Putting his body into autopilot, he was still in deep thought when he entered the café, and still not paying any attention when he walked right into his date.

"Ow!"

"Ah!"

"O-oh!! Rin...!" His eyes met with hers, and he began to stammer. "I-I'm sorry, I—"

"You're early!" Rin interrupted, completely unaffected. "But then again, so am I." With her customary smile firmly in place, she rubbed her head and pointed up at a wall clock.

7:43.

Len had been more anxious than he thought.

He quickly regained composure, smoothing down the front of his shirt and finally getting a good look at Rin. She was in a cute, white one piece, with small ruffles decorating the top half, and embroidered flowers decorating the bottom. On her dainty feet were strappy brown sandals.

On top of all of that, her characteristic ribbon sat nonchalantly on her blonde locks, and maybe even more so than usual, her face beamed with innocent energy. It was like her enthusiasm had no limit.

They found their way over to a small booth, placed their orders, and were eating in only a matter of several minutes later. So far, so good, but Len was still a little bit tense.

Once they had reached a medium-sized lull in conversation, Len hesitantly brought up a risky topic. He had been debating with himself whether or not to say anything, but... "Hey, Rin... don't you know about the rumors going around...?"

"Hmm? The ones about us? Well, of course I do. It's pretty much all the girls talk to me about lately." As if Len had asked such a dull question as 'what's your middle name', she brushed off the question with an alarming degree of disinterest.

"But... but don't they bother you? I mean... I'm not your boyfriend... a-and if someone sees us together, won't people make fun of you...?"

Suddenly, Rin's eyes locked seriously onto Len's (it surprised him and made him even more uncomfortable). She looked deep and contemplative; it almost looked unnatural for a cheerful girl like her. "Len, I don't care what other people think about our relationship, and I don't want you to care, either. Those people are stupid, anyway! I just like you, okay?"

Right away, she realized something had slipped out that she had no intention of saying out loud, and her fork fell to the table as her hands flew up to her mouth. "A-ah... no, I mean... er, well..."

I like you.

Did Rin really just say that? About Len? Did that mean what he hoped it meant?

Both teens were dark shades of red. Neither had the courage to continue eating or say anything. What now...?

At the moment, Len was trying to put out the flames on his cheeks, wipe the sweat on his forehead away without looking conspicuous, and take a sip of water without choking on it...

"Oh..." He was out of water. Taking a quick glance at the menu, he groaned inwardly at the words 'no free refills'. Another refill was two more dollars, and his budget was dangerously tight as it was... Curse his stingy allowance.

"What?" Rin looked up from her lap, still a bit flustered, and connected Len's gaze with his empty glass. "Ah, do you want some of my tea?"

Without any reservations or second thoughts, she held out her cup. Len couldn't resist the gesture, so he took it and stared down at the drink, as if it were a toxic liquid.

He really wished he had just drank it without looking, because now he realized that Rin's lips had been on the straw. And to make things worse, a very light marking from her lip gloss left a small, shiny ring. He took a sip with almost a pained expression, desperately trying to focus on his napkin or anything besides the fact that Rin's saliva was now indirectly in his mouth.

"Len, are you okay? You look kind of... funny," Rin asked, as if she had completely forgotten about the awkward secret that she had blurted out just a few moments ago.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay..." Len wasn't sure if things were going well or not. Currently, he was racking his brain for suitable conversational topics, but it seemed as though that evil straw had wiped his mind clean.

Time passed. They managed to feebly begin some other conversations about things like school and music, but before Len knew it, the day was over. He was surprised when Rin stood up and dabbed her lips with a napkin. "Well, Len, I had a lot of fun hanging out with you! It's already nine thirty, so I should probably head home or my dad will get mad."

"A-ahh! Yeah! Okay, well, thanks for inviting me out... It was super cool to spend time with you..." Immediately, he mentally punched himself. _'Super cool'? Way to make yourself look like a goober._ "Er, I'll — I'll pay for the food, and... yeah."

_It's over. She's never going to want to talk to me again. I was so stupid and awkward! And worse, I brought up those dumb rumors! Though she did say she liked me... but what if she didn't mean it like that?! What if she doesn't like me now?! Wahhh..._

Len's thoughts were being graphically displayed on his face. Rin giggled as he cycled through a series of hilarious expressions. "You're so funny! Let's go out again some time, okay?"

"Eh? Um, o—"

Len froze as Rin leaned forward and pecked him on the lips. It was quick; maybe lasting only for a second or two. But it felt like an electrical jolt, and seemed to leave Len with a tingling sensation.

It was...

...really nice.

"Rin...?" Len managed to utter after a brief pause. Rin looked equally surprised and embarrassed, as if Len had been the one to steal a kiss.

"Ahh...! G-goodnight!" She mustered one last smile before dashing out the front door. Len lingered inside of the café for a few more minutes, allowing himself to process everything that had just happened.

_My... my first kiss...  
_  
Len was filled with a sense of accomplishment. At this rate, maybe those rumors would come true!

"Whoa, you scored!" A familiar voice came from behind the cash register. Len spun around, only to see Kaito, one of his classmates.

"K-K-K-K-K-K-KAITO?! Wha-what are you doing here?!" Len blurted in a comedic fashion.

"I work the night shift here. I wasn't expecting to see you and Rin... well, you you know."

Len screamed, flailing his arms about angrily. "D-DON'T MAKE IT SOUND LIKE THAT! Y-you!! You were spying...!! Ahh!!"

"Wait until all the others hear about this!" Kaito continued on cheerfully, completely ignoring his furious friend. "They'll be so proud! Our little Len, getting it on..."

"N-NO! SHUT UP! SHUT UP RIGHT _NOW_!!"


	6. His Smile

AN: I did not intend to upload this, but I realized I hadn't updated this poor thing in ages.

It was just an experimental piece I wrote on my blog. It should be pretty obvious what song it's based on.

* * *

I stared in wild confusion as he buttoned up my shirt—though, it was not my shirt. It was one of his own. He smiled, but something was wrong with that smile; at the sight of it, I felt sick. My heart felt like it was sinking. Something was wrong. "What are you doing...?"

"I'm lending you my clothes, okay?" he replied softly, tenderly; almost in a low whisper. In contrast, the unusual noise outside was growing louder. What was it? People? People yelling? I tuned it out in order to better hear his quiet voice. He continued, "And I'm going to borrow yours."

He opened one of my wardrobes and pulled out a familiar article of clothing; my favorite yellow dress. As I watched him slip it on, I began to realize with a painful, creeping horror what was happening.

"Wait... wait, no, you can't...!!" I tried to protest, tears stinging my eyes, but he shushed me and placed a gloved index finger against my trembling lips. With his free hand, he pulled a rubber band out of his hair. His flaxen locks fell loosely, framing his cheeks. He reached for my hair and transferred his hairstyle over to me. I weakly pushed at his chest, but my arms were shaking too violently to exert full force, and he did not move. "Don't... don't..." I sobbed, unable to find any other words at my disposal.

"It's okay," he murmured, gathering my hands into his own. I looked up at him, and saw through the blurry tears that his smile was still in place. "We're twins, so no one will ever know."

I savored the warmth of his hands around mine for another moment, but our time together was ended abruptly. My bedroom door crashed open, and the noise—the yelling, the screaming, the insanity—was suddenly here, tangent, and quickly drew closer. He left my side and was willingly ensnared their cruel, brutal grasps. Even as they crushed his thin arms in their hateful hands and dragged him away, I could still see that patient smile gracing his lips. Even though I added my screams to their own, they paid me no mind.

Now, I stand in the cold, clutching an old, wool cloak around my shuddering frame. I drift through a buzzing crowd, wondering if I can find him among these harsh, unfriendly streets.

I follow the throng's gazes upwards, and standing against a red sky,

a guillotine

towered

up into

the air.

I realize

that in the guillotine

is him

and in a loud and even voice, he utters:

"Ah, it's snack time."

My old catchphrase

in my clothes

with my hair

but his smile.

The blade drops.


End file.
